Pluriel

University platform for research on Islam

Initiated by
the Federation
of European
Catholic
Universities

Supported by
the International
Federation
of Catholic
Universities

Publisher : G. Giappichelli Editore srl - Turin

Italian

2018

Behind the circumcision. The challenge of citizenship and the space of religious freedom in Europe

Original title : “Dietro la circoncisione. La sfida della cittadinanza e lo spazio di libertà religiosa in Europa”

‘The documents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe hint at a number of issues that lie behind the attempt to somehow obstruct non-therapeutic circumcision. These ‘games’ will be acknowledged in the following chapters. They involve not only Jewish and Muslim religious rights and the very survival of the two communities that need such an act, as we have seen, but also state-religious relations, health and religions, to the point of intersecting with very complex issues on which the future of Europe is at stake, such as citizenship and the space of religious freedom in an Old Continent still lacking a shared citizenship. The issue of circumcision, in fact, implies a fundamental and decisive challenge, that of ‘living together’ in a plural society.’

(extract from the first chapter)

Titre original : “Dietro la circoncisione. La sfida della cittadinanza e lo spazio di libertà religiosa in Europa”

“Les documents de l’Assemblée parlementaire du Conseil de l’Europe laissent entrevoir un certain nombre de problèmes qui se cachent derrière la tentative d’entraver d’une manière ou d’une autre la circoncision non thérapeutique. Ces “jeux” seront reconnus dans les chapitres suivants. Elles mettent en jeu non seulement les droits religieux juifs et musulmans et la survie même des deux communautés qui ont besoin d’un tel acte, comme nous l’avons vu, mais aussi les relations État-religion, la santé et les religions, au point de croiser des questions très complexes sur lesquelles se joue l’avenir de l’Europe, comme la citoyenneté et l’espace de liberté religieuse dans un Vieux Continent encore dépourvu de citoyenneté partagée. La question de la circoncision, en effet, implique un défi fondamental et décisif, celui du ‘vivre ensemble’ dans une société plurielle.”

(extrait du premier chapitre)

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